A national catalytic converter theft ring that generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue was taken down in an unprecedented federal investigation, the Department of Justice said Wednesday.
The operation included arrests, searches and seizures in California, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Nevada, North Carolina and Virginia.
Twenty-one defendants were charged in two indictments that were unsealed Wednesday in U.S. district courts for the Eastern District of California and the Northern District of Oklahoma, federal officials said. Investigators also served 32 search warrants and seized millions of dollars in assets including homes, bank accounts, cash and vehicles.
